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Lotus F1

Detractors will tell you that there's little to be applied from Formula One racing to the cars we drive, but what about the cars most of us could only dream of driving? We're talking about supercars from the likes of Ferrari and McLaren – two hugely successful F1 racing teams that have successfully made the transition into building exotic sports cars for the road. And soon there may be one more.

In case you haven't heard, there were some controversial changes to the Formula One rulebook made recently, adding things like double points for the season-ending race and the ability for each driver to choose their own number (previously, a driver's finishing position in the previous season was used).

What do Formula 1 racing and Daft Punk have in common? Virtually nothing outside of some high-tech gear and, well, helmets. But that didn't stop Lotus F1 from teaming with the French electronic music duo at this year's Monaco Grand Prix.

Even before Red Bull Racing became a record-breaking three-time Constructor's Champion in Formula One, it has dominated conversations both as a team and as an energy drink. After seven years of "Red Bull this" and "Red Bull that," Coca-Cola is reportedly ready to jump into the F1 fray with its Sweden-based energy drink Burn.

Group Lotus will no longer sponsor Lotus F1, according to Autosport.com. The manufacturer pulled its endorsement shortly after parent company Proton announced the sale of Group Lotus to DRB-Hicom. Additionally, Proton won't purchase 50 percent of the race team as previously agreed.

Few drivers have caused the kind of speculation that Kimi Raikkonen has in the past few years alone. Will he take a Ferrari payoff and make way for Fernando Alonso? Will he find another ride in Formula One? Will he make it in the World Rally Championship? Will he make a real go of it in NASCAR? Will he ever come back to F1? And if so, with which team? Well, the speculation can now stop – or at least change focus – because the 2007 World Champion has officially returned to Formula One

Former F1 and Indy champion Jacques Villeneuve is playing down reports that he was offered a ride with the new Lotus Renault GP team for next season. The French Canadian driver recently threw in the towel on any potential return to grand prix racing after repeated attempts to get back on the grid, determined to break into NASCAR instead and getting his fix racing Skodas on ice in the interim.

The relationship between Lotus the automaker and Lotus the F1 racing team only seems to be getting more complicated. The name was licensed by Malaysian state automaker Proton to fellow Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes for use by his F1 team. Then Fernandes announced he didn't need Proton's permission and bought the name from a third party who claimed ownership. Proton and Lotus disputed the claim and canceled the licensing agreement, but Fernandes insisted he was within his rights. Both Lotu

If you thought it was confusing for Red Bull to own two F1 teams, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Emerging reports from the F1 paddock seem to paving the way for not one, but two teams under the Lotus-Renault banner.

Things are heating up in Formula One. As you may recall, earlier this year, Lotus head honcho Tony Fernandes jested that he would retire and kill himself if his team was bested by Virgin. A gaggle of reporters recently pinged Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson to see how he felt about Fernandes' oath of victory or death, and Branson responded with a challenge for the Lotus guru. The boss of the losing team will have to serve as a stewardess on the winning team's respective airline.

Stick with us here, because this is going to get a little complicated. We have on the one hand Lotus Cars and Group Lotus. On the other we have the current Lotus F1 team. The former – producers of such sportscars as the Elise and the new Elite – is owned by Malaysian state automaker Proton. The former is also Malaysian-owned, but by businessman Tony Fernandes (pictured above, owner also of Air Asia), and uses the name Lotus under license from Proton.

The pieces to the puzzle that is the upcoming Formula One season are coming together bit by bit. In the latest development, the upstart Lotus F1 Racing team has announced the signing of two veteran drivers: Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen.

Do you remember back in 1996 when Michael Schumacher left Benetton for Ferrari? They didn't just get Schumi; along with him came master strategist Ross Brawn and designer extraordinaire Rory Byrne. Together, the wonder team built the Scuderia back into a championship-winning powerhouse. Well, we have a feeling there are some people in Maranello who may be getting acquainted with the flip side of that particular coin.